The brainers
Laurent Jodoin – Engineer and science philosopher
Laurent Jodoin is an engineer and holds a doctorate in philosophy of science (U. de Paris I-Sorbonne/U. de Montréal, summa cum laude). He currently teaches at Collège Lionel-Groulx and Université de Montréal. His research focuses on the structure of explanations of complex systems in physics and biology, and more specifically those involving the concept of entropy. He also works to deepen and promote the principles of sustainable development, both conceptually and practically, through his teaching, research and involvement. For example, he led a major IDRC-funded interdisciplinary project to improve energy justice for rural women in sub-Saharan Africa. He has also lectured extensively in Europe, North America and Africa.
This brainer takes part in round-table discussions, offers improvisation sessions and the following solo talks:
Can energy justice help the most vulnerable?
On a global scale, the energy sector bears the greatest responsibility for climate change. The communities most affected by climate impacts are often those with the lowest levels of access to energy. This is an urgent ethical issue. In sub-Saharan Africa, women in rural areas are more vulnerable and have a more crucial need for energy services than those in urban areas. They are the focus of my research, which adopts a normative framework based on the concept of energy justice and uses the prism of the capability approach. Quantitative (questionnaires) and qualitative (focus groups) evidence from an in-depth survey of 2,290 households (male/female in Benin, Senegal and Togo) is used to propose a diagnosis of these rural communities. The study shows that making energy decisions based on an ethically inspired framework leads to fairer and more effective policies and outcomes. The principles of energy justice make it easier to identify certain justice issues, and the capability approach helps to pinpoint the problems faced by the most vulnerable.